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Thursday, May 31, 2012

I found this gem in the scrap paper bin we keep next to the reference desk. (What a sad place for it to be!) Now, I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but this appears to be the ominous cliffhanger ending to a story written by a kid. There were no other pages to be found, so I will let you use your imaginations as to what horrors came before these lines.

Dun dun DUNNNNN!

In a way, this mysterious ending reminds me of one of my favorite books from childhood, The Mysteries of Harris Burdickby Chris Van Allsburg in which a man named Pete Wenders is visited by a mysterious writer (the fictional Harris Burdick), who drops off a series of mysterious illustrations, each with a mysteriously vague caption attached to it. Burdick promises to return the next day with the finished stories and more illustrations, but, mysteriously, he is never heard from again. SO MUCH MYSTERIOUS. Like many other kids who have read this book, I had great fun making up my own Burdick-based stories when I was a young, budding writer.

It's hard to choose a favorite illustration, but I always loved this one titled "Mr Linden's Library." (You can probably guess why.)

Caption: "He had warned her about the book. Now it was too late."

In case you weren't aware, there's a recently published "sequel," The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, with stories written by renowned authors such as Lois Lowry, Jules Feiffer, and Linda Sue Park. My mother, remembering how much I loved the first Harris Burdick book, gave me Chronicles for Christmas. I haven't read it yet, possibly because I'm afraid that the stories written by these fabulous authors will clash with the visions I had in my head as a kid. (I'm sure I'll get over it.)

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Exciting news, everyone! I'm leaving for PARIS OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO PARIS in two days! Before I go, I'd like to share with you my Top 10 Funny Kid-isms that I heard in the past few months. I hope you enjoy them.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Like many people, I have a favorite mug. Perhaps predictably, mine is library-related. I can't remember if I bought when I visited the Library of Congress a bunch of years ago or if it was a gift, but it has journeyed with me from branch to branch, sitting atop my desk like ceramic monument to books and libraries and the promotion of education and literacy and the pursuit of information. (Also, I drink tea from it.)

The other day I was drinking tea on one of my reference desk shifts (which I know is frowned upon, but I was trying desperately to avoid the mid-afternoon crash). A couple of kids were hanging out at the desk, as they do, and one of the girls apparently noticed this statement on the other side of my mug:

"YES!" She exclaimed, slamming her hand down on the reference desk. "That's so true!"

"What's true?!"

"What your mug says about books. That's how I feel too."

And then the kids started talking about books. And how much they love books. And how they are going to check out more books from the library. Basically, a children's librarian's dream.

There is hope, people. There is hope.

(And if it starts conversations such as these, maybe I will continue to drink tea at the reference desk. DAMN THE MAN.)

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About Me

I am a public librarian. I have a Master's Degree in Library Science and another Master's degree in Secondary English Education. I experience strange and wonderful things in my line of work. I like to share them. I (and/or my writing) have appeared in various places, including American Libraries Magazine, Huffington Post, The Village Voice, The Atlantic Wire, the NY Daily News, Book Riot, School Library Journal, The Hairpin, and more. This blog won the 2012 Salem Press Library Blog Award in the "Quirky" category. Find me on Twitter: @ScrewyDecimal!